It’s a great racket

By Martin Patriquin - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 8:50 AM - 0 Comments

Mario Beauregard/CP

By appearances alone, Bernard Gauthier makes for a great villain. His nickname is Rambo, and though he came by it honestly enough—he served eight years in the Canadian military—it is fitting for a 200-plus-lb. man with a mohawk, an earring and a mouth that would mightily challenge even the most adept broadcast censor. A construction worker practically since he could pick up a hammer, Gauthier is arguably the most notorious and divisive union figure in Quebec today. He is a hero to the men he oversees as a representative with FTQ-Construction, while his critics, and there are many, see him as a thuggish throwback who rules fist-first over his territory.

“We are against violence, but honestly, telling a goddamn bastard that he’s a goddamn bastard feels good,” Gauthier told Maclean’s from his office in Sept-Îles recently. “It’s liberating. It takes out 50 per cent of the rage in your heart. And now you can’t do it. If you do, you’re accused of intimidation, tabarnac.”

Gauthier sees many bastards in his life these days, chief among them Jean Charest’s Liberal government, whose proposed law, Bill C-33, would remove the union movement’s power to dictate which members get to work on which job sites in the province. The practice, known as “hiring hall,” has long been a hallmark of labour codes across North America and Europe, and the Quebec government’s plan to strip it away has Gauthier furious. “We had a nice industry that was quiet, that was flourishing. It was going well, goddammit,” he spits. “Now they’re going to turn it all to s–t.”

Continue…

‘Lest we forget’

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 8:30 AM - 0 Comments

The Prime Minister’s statement on the occasion of Remembrance Day.

The values our veterans held dear decades ago are still very much alive today in those who continue to serve our great country, be it at home or abroad, through peace support or combat missions.

The unparalleled spirit, skills and devotion of the members of the Canadian Armed Forces are an example for us all, and our thoughts remain with members currently serving in Afghanistan.

A mother forced to face the truth

By Michael Friscolanti - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 8:10 AM - 0 Comments

Lars Hagberg/CP

Mohammad Shafia, the Afghan immigrant on trial for quadruple “honourcide,” spent the day watching video footage of his wife crying, denying, and finally crumbling, under hours of police interrogation. Later that night, the 58-year-old accused murderer was rushed from his prison cell to a hospital room, suffering from what the judge described as a “serious medical emergency.” Whether the recording triggered his undisclosed ailment, only Shafia knows for sure. But the content was certainly enough to make anybody ill.

At one point, as the camera rolls, Shafia’s wife buries her tear-soaked cheeks in a family photo album that contains the faces of all seven of her children: the four who are still alive, and the three who were dumped, allegedly with her help, into a watery grave. “I haven’t killed,” Tooba Yahya says, in between heavy sobs. “And I don’t want to talk.”

The cop trying to convince her otherwise is Insp. Shahin Mehdizadeh, a Farsi-speaking Mountie who was seconded to the Kingston, Ont., force for the sole purpose of interviewing the accused “honour killers” in their native tongue. A veteran of major crime investigations, Mehdizadeh arrived in town just 48 hours before the arrests, but by the time he introduces himself to Yahya on the evening of July 22, 2009, he is well versed on the case file. “We know what has happened now,” he says, his words subtitled for the jury. “But we want to know why. Why have four lives been lost? For what?”

Continue…

A forgotten war no more

By Nicholas Köhler - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 6:00 AM - 0 Comments

Photograph by Jessica Darmanin

Capt. Mort Lightstone was too young to serve in the Second World War, as his father and brothers did. An industrious kid who grew up in downtown Ottawa, he delivered the Ottawa Citizen instead, and with his earnings later bought a bicycle to secure more lucrative work delivering telegrams. Sam, his father, was able to use his skills as a watchmaker to maintain aircraft instruments in the war; peace put him out of a job. Lightstone’s entrance into military life was therefore practical. “I had three older brothers,” he says. “I never got new clothes—they were all hand-me-downs.” He joined the Air Cadets and suddenly everything was new. “New boots, new shirts, pants, jackets, caps, raincoat, winter coat—amazing,” he says. “It made my life for me. It made my life.”

He’d thought of becoming a lawyer, but turned to the air force when his folks couldn’t afford university. By the spring of 1952 he’d earned his wings and was training as a navigator on the Canadair North Star, a four-engine transport aircraft with a dome permitting consultation with the stars—unlike radar, a navigation system that “can’t be jammed” by the enemy. Before long, at 19, he was charting a course for Tokyo as part of the Korean airlift, an important air support detail in the Korean War. On his first day he landed in Tokyo, unloaded personnel and supplies destined for Korea, and took off carrying American wounded and the nurses charged with their care. He found those nurses, in their starched white uniforms, very appealing; during the return flight stateside, he resolved to slap his flight cap on and visit with the troops in the rear. By the time he made the trek the nurses’ whites were splattered with blood. “The soldiers had arms missing, legs missing, pipes and gadgets holding their faces together,” he says in a video testimonial, part of the Historica-Dominion Institute’s Memory Project, which just launched a Korean War component to coincide with Remembrance Day. “That’s when the movie ended and the reality of war set in.”

Continue…

The Memory Project: Robert Stewart

By macleans.ca - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 5:50 AM - 0 Comments

Robert (Bob) Stewart (Army Medical Corps) of Victoria, BC was a medic with 3 Royal Canadian Regiment in Korea from 1953 to 1954. He remained in the forces until 1989 when he retired as a major. He was on the front lines, and recounts caring for seriously wounded soldiers. Continue…

The Memory Project: Don Jatiouk

By macleans.ca - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 5:50 AM - 0 Comments

Don Jatiouk (Navy) of Alliston, ON served onboard HMCS Nootka, which was a Canadian naval vessel that patrolled the Korean coast during the war, conducting barrages on the Korean coast to halt supplies as well as protection and surveillance duties. He was a radar operator and was the individual who spotted a North Korean minelayer vessel and warned the captain before the ship struck one of the mines. The incident was unique in Korean War history because the Nootka engaged the minesweeper and captured the ship and crew save for the captain who was shot and killed. This marked the only confirmed North Korean vessel to be captured by UN forces during the Korean War. He also recounts the Nootka being attacked by Chinese shore batteries, saving stricken vessels and using deck guns to repel what was likely an attempted Chinese invasion of an island. Continue…

The Memory Project: Don Landry

By macleans.ca - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 5:50 AM - 0 Comments

Don Landry (Army) of Nova Scotia served in the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in the 1st and 3rd Battalions. He served one tour in Korea. Landry hails from a family of multi-generational military service in the Canadian Forces, dating back to the First World War to current zones of conflict. He recalls witnessing the attack on the Hill 355 by the Chinese on the Royal Canadian Regiment. Continue…

The Memory Project: Phil Bissell

By macleans.ca - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 5:50 AM - 0 Comments

Philip G. Bissell (Navy) of Rossland, BC served as Gunnery Officer aboard the HMCS Sioux on one of its tours of duty in Korean waters. Bissell ordered the successful shelling of an enemy train assembly point at in the well-known assault at Wonsan in 1951, during which he used an aircraft spotter for the first time to locate the target. He also discusses the damage that Typhoon Ruth caused to both the Sioux and the Australian aircraft carrier, HMAS Sydney III, when the ships ventured out of Sasebo, Japan in fall 1951. Bissell had a long career in the Royal Canadian Navy. Continue…

The Memory Project: Claude Petit

By macleans.ca - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 5:50 AM - 0 Comments

Claude Petit (Army) of Wetaskiwin, AB served with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Korea. He is the Past President of the National Aboriginal Veterans Association. Petit tells stories about life in Korea, training in Canada, and his experience on the front lines. He recalls engaging in fire fights with Chinese and North Korean Soldiers. Continue…

The Memory Project: Dennis Moore

By macleans.ca - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 5:50 AM - 0 Comments

Dennis Moore (Army) of North Bay, ON enlisted in Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in 1950. In addition to his service on the ground, he played in a series of hockey games on the Imjin River (which flows from North to South Korean) in 1952. He remained in the forces until 1971 and retired as a Sergeant. Continue…

The Memory Project: Doug Raynbird

By macleans.ca - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 5:50 AM - 0 Comments

Doug Raynbird (Army) of Winnipeg, MB was being shelled when he accidently stabbed himself (the knife came out of the scabbard) while serving in Korea. After recuperating in hospital, he was recruited to be part of a traveling entertainment group called the Johnny Canuck Revue, for which he sang, played guitar and danced. He and 20 others traveled around Korea and Japan performing the show to boost troops’ morale. Continue…

The Memory Project: Eric George Smith

By macleans.ca - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 5:50 AM - 0 Comments

Eric George Smith (Air Force) of Ontario was one of only 22 RCAF fighter pilots to undertake a combat role during the Korean War. He served with the United States 5th Air Force and flew the cutting edge F-86 Sabre at the dawn of the Jet Age. After his operations in Korea ended, he returned to Canada to train 400 fighter pilots and continue a distinguished military career until his retirement in 1968. Continue…

The Memory Project: Mort Lightstone

By macleans.ca - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 5:50 AM - 0 Comments

Mort Lightstone (Air Force) of Ottawa, ON joined the Royal Canadian Air Force to help support his family at 18. The next thing he knew, he was flying in a war zone. He served in the Korean War as a part of the air lift that provided essential support to United Nations Forces. He remained in the service for a total of 28 years and logged some 6,600 hours in flight missions. He has dedicated much of his retirement to raising awareness for the so-called “Forgotten War” in classrooms across Canada. Continue…

About the Memory Project

By macleans.ca - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 5:30 AM - 0 Comments

Launched by the Historica-Dominion Institute, the Memory Project provides veterans with the opportunity to share their stories and memorobilia through an online digital archive. This year, the Memory Project announced a new component to its archives, which documents the gripping tales of Korean War veterans. Maclean’s has assembled a selection of the interviews and mementoes compiled by the Memory Project here. The complete collection is available at TheMemoryProject.com.

Kevin Spacey occupies Wall Street in ‘Margin Call’

By Brian D. Johnson - Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 11:59 PM - 0 Comments

Kevin Spacey in 'Margin Call'

Kevin Spacey has built much of his career on playing Machiavellian monsters. Glengarry Glen Ross, Swimming With Sharks, The Usual Suspects,  Casino Jack, Horrible Bosses . . . his resume is a veritable rogues gallery. So in Margin Call, it’s refreshing to see Spacey play against type as a high-powered Wall Street honco who is not an asshole. As Sam Rogers, the captain of brokerage firm that hits a Titanic iceberg in the 2008 recession, he’s an old-school businessman with a conscience, who’s forced to engineer a fire sale for his sinking firm.

Margin Call is a chilly, potent chamber piece that unfolds like a sci-fi disaster movie. It begins with a brutal downsizing at the firm that throws a 19-year veteran (Stanley Tucci) onto the street. As he’s frog-marched out of the building by security, he slips a pocket computer drive to a bright entry-level analyst (Star Trek‘s Zachary Quinto), telling him there’s some unfinished business on it that might scare him. The whiz kid works late, finding the missing piece of the puzzle, and what he sees is catastrophic—the financial equivalent of discovering an alien life form that’s about to destroy the universe as we know it. It’s the middle of the night. One by one, his superiors come in to gaze in disbelief at the mysterious and catastrophic projections on the computer screen. And up the corporate ladder we go—past Spacey’s troubled character, past the firm’s cynical head trader (Paul Bettany), past its Chief Risk Officer (a brittle Demi Moore), past its ruthless chief executive (Simon Baker)—until finally we meet the Wizard of Oz, the wily CEO played by Jeremy Irons.

As we scale the corporate stratosphere,  each executive gazes at the data and is thunderstruck by the Thing that’s going to make all hell break loose, without us really understanding what the Thing is. Finally Irons’ character, serving as the viewer’s surrogate, asks for an explanation: “Just speak to me in plain English,” he says. “Speak to me as you would a young child. Or a golden retriever.” Irons devours his role as the blithe corporate vampire with droll relish—it’s a marvel of bespoke casting.

Margin Call unfolds as a claustrophobic thriller, set almost entirely within the walls of a Manhattan office tower after hours. It’s not unlike a submarine movie, where time stops after the vessel has hit bottom and the crew is sweats bullets as they try to figure out how to they’re going to get out alive. A first feature sharply written and directed by J.C. Chandor, the movie a  strikes an agile balance between gritty realism and stylish drama. It has the literate, self-contained elegance of a stage play, with the visual panache propulsive energy of a genre film.

Recently we’ve seen a couple of studio pictures, In Time and Tower Heist, that broadly vilify the One Per Cent, and would serve as wrothy crowd-pleasers projected on a canvas sheet in an Occupy Wall Street park. Margin Call is the smart one that may get called to the margins of the Oscar race.

Follow Brian D. Johnson on Twitter: @briandjohnson

Two Adam Sandlers are worse than one

By Brian D. Johnson - Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 11:59 PM - 0 Comments

Adam Sandler and Al Pacino in 'Jack and Jill'

Full disclosure. I’m not an Adam Sandler fan. As a comedian, I think he’s smug, vain, mean-spirited . . . and not funny. As an actor, he can be pretty interesting. In fact, the only time I’ve really appreciated Sandler is when he’s not in an Adam Sandler movie. Like when he played a disturbed obsessive in Punch Drunk Love, or in Funny People, in which he seemed to be playing himself—a famous comedian who’s smug, vain and mean-spirited.

So I found Jack and Jill especially hellish, because it’s an Adam Sandler movie with two Adam Sandlers. He plays twins. Jack is a successful L.A. commercial director; Jill is his abrasive, incredibly annoying, impossibly homely failure of a sister who lives alone and desperate in the Bronx. Playing twins is a show-offy thing for an actor do. So is cross-dressing. Sandler is not convincing for a second at either. His idea of playing a woman is to shriek with a lisp.

I know, I know . . . it’s farce, not Masterpiece Theatre. But the formula is so moronic. And it all seems designed to serve Sandler’s I-am-smarter-than-the-movies-I-make mix of self-loathing and narcissism. Jack’s cutely contrived family are Norman Rockwell cut-outs right out of central casting, led by Katie Homes. Getting let out of the Tom Cruise cage to serve as Sandler’s bland helpmate is a mixed blessing indeed. Continue…

The Shafia clan, in their own words

By Michael Friscolanti - Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 11:30 PM - 0 Comments

Michael Friscolanti is covering the honour killing trial for Maclean’s, filing regular reports from the Kingston, Ont. courtroom to Macleans.ca and weekly dispatches for the magazine. The reports will continue for the duration of the trial, which is expected to run into December.

Weeks from now, a jury in Kingston, Ont., will huddle in a private room to decide whether the heads of the Shafia clan—father, mother, and eldest son—massacred nearly half the family. Much of their discussion will revolve around cars: why one became an underwater coffin, whether another was a murder weapon, and what was said (or not said) inside a bunch of others.

In court on Thursday, prosecutors at the alleged “honour killing” trial provided a small sample of the latter, playing the first of many intercepted, in-car conversations between the accused trio: Mohammad Shafia, 58; Tooba Yahya, 41; and Hamed Shafia, 20. Their words fluctuate between incriminating and idiotic. At one point, Hamed himself says that the cops probably planted a hidden bug in their mini-van. “They can fasten something to record your voice,” he tells his parents.

In fact, they fastened it in the very day those words were utttered—July 18, 2009—while the threesome was inside police headquarters retrieving some of their dead relatives’ belongings. Continue…

Week in Pictures: November 7-13, 2011

By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 7:15 PM - 0 Comments

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Week in Pictures: November 7-13, 2011

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An Occupy Oakland protester waves a flag

An Occupy Oakland protester waves a flag next to a bonfire in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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Not in service (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 5:17 PM - 0 Comments

In response to this post, the office of Human Resources Minister Diane Finley sends along the following.

As announced in August, Service Canada will improve the way in which EI claims are processed by introducing further automation to an increasingly outdated and paper-based system. This will happen over the next three years. With continuous improvements to the way that we do business – such as increased automation, improved online services, and a nationally-managed approach to the distribution of workloads – Service Canada is positioned to manage service demands in a more cost-effective way. Modernizing our services will mean changes to the way we currently do business but ultimately will allow for better services for Canadians.

Canadians expect their hard-earned tax dollars to be used as effectively and efficiently as possible. The government of Canada is working hard, on behalf of Canadians, towards eliminating the deficit, returning to balanced budgets and improving the services we deliver. Over the course of the year, and dependent on labour market conditions and other factors, there may be fluctuations in the volume of Employment Insurance (EI) applications which could affect the speed of pay from one week to the next. We continue to carefully monitor the number of claims to make sure that we provide the best possible service to Canadians who are in need of benefits.

Who ya got?

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 4:49 PM - 0 Comments

Ten individuals who used to work for Rights & Democracy have endorsed Paul Dewar. Peggy Nash wins the endorsement of Alexa McDonough.

“I am convinced Peggy is the candidate who can lead a united NDP,” said McDonough.  “She has the skills and experience to take on Stephen Harper’s failing economic policies and she has the activist roots to continue building our party, here in Atlantic Canada, in Quebec and right across the country.”

U.S. delays Keystone XL project until after 2012 election

By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 4:04 PM - 0 Comments

The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday it would postpone any decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline until after the 2012 election. The $7 billion pipeline, which would transport oil from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, has been under State Department consideration since 2008, but officials now say they will look at alternate routes in a bid to alleviate the concerns of environmentalists. Critics of the project claim it would threaten sensitive lands in Nebraska and that oil extracted from Alberta’s tar sands would contribute to climate change.

The New York Times

Conservatives agree to plea deal in “in-and-out” scandal

By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 3:42 PM - 0 Comments

Charges against four senior members of the federal Conservatives, including two senators, were dropped on Thursday as part of a plea deal in the “in-and-out” election financing scandal. In exchange, the Conservative party and its fundraising arm have plead guilty to charges the party exceeded election spending limits and filed election records that didn’t include all of its expenses. The prosecutor and defence attorneys agreed the Conservative party and its fundraising arm would pay fines of $50,000 and $2,000, respectively, to settle the case. Senator Doug Finley, Senator Irving Gerstein, Michael Donison and Susan Kehoe had originally been charged under the Elections Act for their roles in a scheme to shift expenses between local campaigns and the national campaign during the 2006 election.

CBC

State Dept announces new Keystone study, delay

By Luiza Ch. Savage - Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 3:37 PM - 0 Comments

It’s official: the State Department has announced it will conduct additional “in-depth” study of an alternative route for the Keystone XL pipeline given concerns about the pipeline passing through the  Sand Hills of Nebraska.

This is something environmentalists had demanded for a long time, but State had shown little interest in until the politicalpressure was put onto the White House.

This move could push a final decision on the permit back by 12-18 months, according to Reuters, and therefore past the election.

I have not seen a statement yet from TransCanada in response. The company had indicated in the past that too much delay could kill the project.

From State:

For Immediate Release and Posting

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

For Immediate Release                                                                                                                                                           November 10, 2011

2011/1909

MEDIA NOTE

Keystone XL Pipeline Project Review Process: Decision to Seek Additional Information

Executive Order 13337 authorizes the Department of State to lead the review of Presidential Permit applications for transborder pipelines, granting the Department discretion in determining what factors to examine to inform a determination of whether the proposed project is in the national interest.  Since 2008, the Department has been conducting a transparent, thorough and rigorous review of TransCanada’s application for the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline project.  As a result of this process, particularly given the concentration of concerns regarding the environmental sensitivities of the current proposed route through the Sand Hills area of Nebraska, the Department has determined it needs to undertake an in-depth assessment of potential alternative routes in Nebraska.

As part of the National Interest Determination process, the State Department held a public comment period, including public meetings in the six potentially affected states and Washington, D.C., to increase the opportunity for public comments.  During this time, the Department also received input from state, local, and tribal officials.  We received comments on a wide range of issues including the proposed project’s impact on jobs, pipeline safety, health concerns, the societal impact of the project, the oil extraction in Canada, and the proposed route through the Sand Hills area of Nebraska, which was one of the most common issues raised.  The comments were consistent with the information in the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) about the unique combination of characteristics in the Sand Hills (which includes a high concentration of wetlands of special concern, a sensitive ecosystem, and extensive areas of very shallow groundwater) and provided additional context and information about those characteristics.  The concern about the proposed route’s impact on the Sand Hills of Nebraska has increased significantly over time, and has resulted in the Nebraska legislature convening a special session to consider the issue.

State law primarily governs routes for interstate petroleum pipelines; however, Nebraska currently has no such law or regulatory framework authorizing state or local authorities to determine where a pipeline goes.  Taken together with the national concern about the pipeline’s route, the Department has determined it is necessary to examine in-depth alternative routes that would avoid the Sand Hills in Nebraska in order to move forward with a National Interest Determination for the Presidential Permit.

Based on the Department’s experience with pipeline project reviews and the time typically required for environmental reviews of similar scope by other agencies, it is reasonable to expect that this process including a public comment period on a supplement to the final EIS consistent with NEPA could be completed as early as the first quarter of 2013.  After obtaining the additional information, the Department would determine, in consultation with the eight other agencies identified in the Executive Order, whether the proposed pipeline was in the national interest, considering all of the relevant issues together.  Among the relevant issues that would be considered are environmental concerns (including climate change), energy security, economic impacts, and foreign policy.

***

Twitter/luizachsavage

How to make beans n’ toast the perfect student dish

By Jessica Allen - Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 3:13 PM - 0 Comments

Pythagoras thought they were evil and Aristotle said they were destructive. Plus, there’s also that really funny song about them. We’re talking about beans, specifically in their most glorious rendering, on toast. Not only are they versatile in the kitchen, high in fibre, protein and iron, but they’re also incredibly cheap—especially the dried variety—making beans perfect student grub. Maclean’s, along with two Toronto chefs, presents three variations that may just be the greatest thing on sliced bread.